Abstract

Accounts of success on isolation and culture of plant protoplasts and various genetic manipulation studies including fusion of plant protoplasts from distantly related species have been reported in the past (1, 2, 3). However, records of success amongst major crop plants are not many. Jute is an important fiber crop plant extensively grown in the eastern part of India and Bangladesh. The two cultivated species (Corchorus capsularis and C. olitorius) complement the needs of each other. Production of sexual hybrids is prevented by barriers of sexual incompatibility between the two species. We reported recently (4) that interspecific somatic hybrids may be possible to evolve. On further improving our technical approach, we are convinced that somatic hybrid cell lines have been produced which, however, failed to differentiate into complete plants till date.